Three recent stories

Three seemingly unrelated stories caught my attention the past two days.

Story 1 (courtesy of Ragged Thots): Gray Lady Discovers "Blonkies"

If white kids into black music are "wiggers," obviously, black kids who like white music, must be "blonkies"! Thank you, New York Times for discovering this amazing trend:

WHEN Douglas Martin first saw the video for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a teenager in High Point, N.C., “it blew my mind,” he said. Like many young people who soothe their angst with the balm of alternative rock, Mr. Martin was happy to discover music he enjoyed and a subculture where he belonged.
Except, as it turned out, he didn’t really belong, because he is black.

Black kids into indie rock! Who would ever think such a thing would exist?

I commented:

Yes, I can see how it would be strange for blacks to listen to rock & roll.I am sure Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Little Richard all thank the NYT for this bit of patronizing. Only liberals get away with such obvious stereotyping, as long as it comes from a patronizing and/or victimhood angle. Think about it: how else could someone get away with the declarative sentence "Except, as it turned out, he didn’t really belong, because he is black"?

. . . .

And BTW, I was not implying anything about the co-opting of black music. I was attempting to point out that for the self-described urban-biased NYT to do a "white kids listening to black music" or a "black kids listening to white music" piece in 2007 is not exactly an example of journalistic insight. In fact, R&R is and has always been a multi-race and multi-cultural genre at its core, so for the NYT to discover this now shows a remarkable level of insularity.

I thought that was good story, but then . . . .

Story 2: Joe Biden on Obama: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

What an excellent example of patronizing lib speak. Thank you, Brother Biden, for showing us the way. Any conservative who uttered this would be on resignation death-watch right about now.

Can we expect Macaca-like treatment and references to Mr. Biden's troubled history of racial comments and insensitivity (remember the "you have to have a slight Indian accent to go into a 7-11" comment?), especially from the WaPo? I doubt it.

This reminds me of Lethal Weapon 2 when the bad guy (a South African character, I believe) shoots Riggs, then holds up his badge and shouts, "Diplomatic Immunity!" Biden should look into the camera and shout, "Democrat[ic] Immunity!"

Then, one more story caught my eye . . . .

Story 3: Parties mocking blacks spark outrage

It appears that students at several colleges have held parties with a "gangsta" theme recently. The parties have included such "gangsta rap" staples as baggy jeans, puffy jackets, fake machine guns, malt liquor in paper bags and "bling bling" grills. Where did these kids get these stereotypes? Oh, yes, of course: they see it in rap videos shown on MTV and BET and the black kids imitating those videos. At least one person in the article has good sense to point fingers in the right direction:

James Johnson, a black psychology professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington who has researched racial attitudes and teaches a seminar on race and prejudice, said he is more discouraged by the rap performers who perpetuate stereotypes than by the "clueless kids" who imitate them.

"In the civil rights movement, you didn't have blacks who called themselves `niggers' and who called their women `bitches' and `whores' and who glorified being violent and being thugs," he said. "Now these white kids are kind of confused."

Exactly. Contrast that views of the local NAACP chapter:

"We once lynched African-Americans as good fun and humor," said Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP.

When you compare lynching to "gangsta parties," that's when credibility leaves the room. For the record, in all of my reading on lynching, I have seen many references to the hateful intents of the persons who were involved in lynching blacks, but I do not recall anyone ever claiming that among the motivations was "good fun and humor." If the NAACP wants to regain credibility, when they gangsta rappers and their imitators engage in this type of stereotypical behavior, including using the "n word," instead of allowing them to claim, "Racial Immunity!" try calling them on the behavior.

It was refreshing to read Dr. Johnson's quote, but it would have been even more refreshing to read the local NAACP chapter president say, "When blacks use the stereotypical "gangsta" accessories of baggy jeans, puffy jackets, fake machine guns, malt liquor in paper bags and "bling bling" grills, they look stupid. When whites do it, they look STUPIDER."

One more "what does this mean" thing

The Schwarzenegger re-election victory in California may be signal to Republicans that California could be in play for the 2008 presidential election. I am not entirely convinced of that (after all, McClintock, the conservative candidate for lt. governor, had a good showing but still lost and Feinstein won another landslide), but if California could be added to the potential column for Republicans, this would be a major shake-up in electoral college math. Republicans may need this shake-up in view of the likely uphill challenges in Missouri, Ohio and perhaps even Colorado.

Here's the problem for Republicans: the only candidates that could put California in play are the candidates that are likely to be the most unappealable to conservative primary voters, especially in the South. Those candidates are Giuliani and McCain.

Giuliani and McCain will undoubtedly seize on the California potential (and in the case of Giuliani in particular, the New York potential as well) as an additional rationale for their candidacies during the primaries. Each of them could stake out this ground now much the same way George Bush staked out the "Compassionate Conservative" ground soon after the 1998 elections. All other candidates would then have to deal with the "California question" or show how their candidacies will have the broad appeal necessary to win the now-difficult states of Missouri and Ohio and perhaps Colorado.

UPDATE: John McIntyre of RealClearPolitics sees a McCain/Pawlenty ticket, in part based on the 2006 midterm results and the location of the 2008 GOP convention (Minneapolis-St. Paul).